This invention relates to electrical devices, and more particularly to an electrical connector which permits the mating of a receptacle and its counterpart where the initial and entry separated positions, and the initial and entry angles and mating paths may be mismatched.
Electrical connectors provide a means by which system components may interface with each other and/or with other systems. In most applications, these connectors are handmated and relay on connector components for mated interlock. A general category of connectors called "rack and panel" cannot be handmated due to surrounding structures. This is often apparent in miniaturized systems. The alignment of the connector halves, in this case, is difficult because of small tolerances that are provided. These small tolerances exist between the mating structures and the basic mechanisms. In contrast to the miniaturized systems, highly sophisticated structures are provided in common missile and aircraft designs in which the alignment tolerances are greatly increased due to the relatively larger size of the interfacing structures. Add to this a limited number of interface locations available and it is readily imagined that an electrical interface could be required in a very remote and highly misaligned area. Rack and panel connectors are used in these applications, however the alignment compensating feature must be highly refined. It is in the alignment feature that most designs fall short.
There are basically four directions of misalignment which must be considered: (1) radial, (2) axial, (3) rotational and (4) angular. Three of these conditions can be accounted for without serious complications, but the four in combination pose a difficult problem. The problem is usually solved by compensating for two or three of the conditions in the connector design and by solving the fourth problem through structural design. As usual, reliability and 100 percent guaranteed functional performance are highly important considerations in the design of airborne equipment and, as such, increase the design difficulty.